The countdown is underway for one of regional Australia’s biggest celebrations of wine, with the Cowra Wine Show preparing to welcome hundreds of entries from across the country ahead of its flagship tasting and judging in July.

Now in full preparation mode, organisers say the event continues to attract strong interest, with more than 430 entries already received across the broader show and around 170 entries lodged for the Australian Single Vineyard Wine Show.

Wine Show Chairperson Ian Pecker said the single vineyard component continues to play an important role in supporting boutique and smaller producers.

“The Australian single vineyard wine show means that 85 to 90 per cent of the wine has to come from that vineyard,” Mr Pecker said.

“The good thing about that is it’s designed for smaller vineyards… smaller petite wineries that haven’t got a chance in some of the larger categories.”

The Australian Single Vineyard Wine Show runs alongside the broader Cowra Wine Show and provides a unique pathway for emerging wineries, with medal winners progressing to a national stage.

“If they get a gold or a silver medal, they get automatic entry into the National Show in Canberra,” Mr Pecker said.

“It’s an agreement that was established a few years ago.”

Judging for this year’s event will take place from 13 to 16 July, with expert panels expected to assess hundreds of wines submitted from wine producing regions across Australia.

The public will then have the chance to sample medal winning wines at the Cowra Wine Show Public Tasting on 18 July, an event regarded as one of the largest wine tastings in the country.

Wine lovers, casual enthusiasts and curious newcomers alike will have the opportunity to test their palates against professional judges while tasting newly awarded gold, silver and bronze medal winning wines.

Running from 6pm to 9pm, the event will showcase wines entered from across Australia, with organisers expecting hundreds of varieties to be available for tasting.

In a move aimed at broadening the event’s appeal, organisers are again including beer tastings from local producer Bulla Creek Brewing.

“We’re still sticking with the attraction of having the beer tasting from Buller Creek,” Mr Pecker said.

“People like it, so we’ll do it again this year.”

He said the addition had proven surprisingly popular, with some attendees coming specifically for the beer.

“It was interesting because people last year came along and just did beer tasting,” he said.

Alongside the tasting event, preparations are also underway for the annual presentation dinner on 8 August, where trophies and awards will be formally presented to winning wineries.

The dinner has become one of the show’s most sought after events, though numbers remain tightly capped.

“We’ve limited it to about 140 because otherwise we haven’t got enough wine,” Mr Pecker said.

Behind the scenes, organisers are now focused on finalising entries, assigning judging labels and chasing up exhibitors who have registered but not yet submitted wines.

“We’ve got 170 in the single vineyard and 430 already overall,” Mr Pecker said.

The Cowra Wine Show Public Tasting will be held on 18 July from 6pm to 9pm and is strictly an 18+ event.